- Date
- March 12, 1984, 00:00 local (05:00 UTC)
- Place
- Sanibel Island, FL
- Injuries
- 4 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Unknown
- Aircraft
- N39677Piper PA-28-235
- Weather
- Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19840312008109A
- Case key
- 31101
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The acft failed to arrive at its destination. A satellite photo of the area showed wx & cloud cover between the departure & destination arpts. Radar data showed that an acft had left key west, FL, at about 1700, went northbound at 4500 until it encounter bad wx. It then turned southwest for about 7 mi, then turned north & climbed to 4900 ft. shortly after that, it lost 1700 ft in 24 seconds, then radar contact was lost. However, positive identification of the acft was not made. The bodies of 2 of the occupants were recovered, the other 2 were presumed to have been fatally injured. The acft was presumed to have been destroyed during a crash in that vicinity.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N39677
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-235
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7610047
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-B4B5, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- Unknown
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Sam Ferrara Jr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- EYW · Key West, FL
- Destination
- PIE · Clearwater, FL
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 54
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 300 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Day
- Observed at
- EYW
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.